Shownotes
Welcome to Mysteries to Die For.
I am TG Wolff and am here with Jack, my piano player and producer. This is a podcast where we combine storytelling with original music to put you in the heart of a mystery. All stories are structured to challenge you to beat the detective to the solution. These are arrangements, which means instead of word-for-word readings, you get a performance meant to be heard. Jack and I perform these live, front to back, no breaks, no fakes, no retakes.
This is Season 7, Games People Play. Games are about competition conducted according to rules with participants working toward a goal. Games are a part of every culture and are one of the oldest forms of social interaction and engagement. Games can be fun, challenging and exhilarating. They can also be intense, cutthroat, and lethal. This season, our authors have fashioned deadly games and unscrupulous villains to test your detection skills.
This is Episode 6b, checkers is the featured game. This is A Checkered Past by Frank Zafiro
We are in part two of A Checkered Past. Investigator Stef Kopriva is on a case. The guy he occasionally played checkers with in the park across from his house is dead. Retiree Mick Darabont supposedly died from injuries incurred when he fell in the bathroom and hit his head. The police say accident, the daughter, Lula Tieton, isn’t buying it. At the funeral reception, Stef interviewed Lula’s brothers, Donald and Erin, and Mick’s apprentice Mars Claver. We pick up the story as Stef returns home after the funeral.
DELIBERATION
Stef Kopriva isn’t just working a case, he’s working for truth for his checker playing friend, Mick Darabont. He needs your help to shift through the truth, lies, and distortions. Here are the people Stef’s met, in the order he met them:
• Lula Tieton, nee Darabont, the daughter who held a grudge
• Donald Darabont, the oldest who always needed daddy’s approval
• Erin Darabont, the youngest who was blamed for his mother’s death
• Mars Claver, the apprentice who was treatment more like an indentured servant
• Sally Grayson, the nice lady from next door who was Mick’s kinda girlfiend
• Heidi Skellige, the cougar from next other door who was Mick’s other kinda girlfriend
The Mick Darabont that Stef knew was different from the man he discovered. Here is what he now knows:
• Mick Darabont died in his bathroom. The official disposition is that he fell, hit his head, and died. Mick left no will.
• Mick Darabont was reputed to be a tyrant at work and at home. Though reportedly having money, he lived in a simple apartment and had the only key.
• State law will divide the estate equally among the children unless extenuating circumstances change the rules.
• Daughter Lula Tieton is raising doubts. She has no proof other than her father is dead and people hated him.
• Donald, the eldest, owns a business that Lula says is struggling. His house was on the better side of nice.
• Erin, the youngest, is the free spirit who is totally happy with his barista lifestyle.
• Lula, the middle child, is either revered or despised by others. The latter see her as conniving, sneaky.
• Mars Claver was the faithful employee who worked himself tireless for the ungrateful Mick. He had no respect for Lula.
• Sally and Mick were good friends with benefits. For years, she cooked dinner and they watched movies several times a week. She did not appreciate Heidi nosing in.
• Heidi and Mick were the real deal, according to Heidi. She saw Sally as ‘the other woman’.
• Sally shared that all three of Mick’s children were selfish and ungrateful. She didn’t think his sons would kill him and thought Lula would get someone else to do it.
• Sally shared that Mars Claver was very intimidated by Mick. She said no way he would try to kill Mick.
• Apartment Manager Fred did not like Mick, but that wasn’t his job. He confirmed Mick was with both Sally and Heidi. Fred was on team Lula.
All right, it’s your move, what is the truth behind Mick’s death?
PRINT AND E-BOOK
A reminder to mystery readers, check out our print and e-books. The companion books for Seasons 4, 5 and 6 are available in e-book and trade paperback from online retailers. This season’s book is being released in two parts. Part one was released in March 19, 2024 and Part two in September. Buy one for you and one for a mystery lover you love. The dimes and quarters from books sales do support the podcast and keep Jack in chocolate bunny ears and the marshmallow chicks he likes to put in the microwave.
ABOUT Checkers
According to the website Wonderopolis, checkers is much older than the more sophisticated chess, with the game being mentioned in the writings of Homer and Plato. Historians currently date checkers back to an archeologist find in the ancient city of Ur in Iraq. This dates to 3,000 BC. In the 12th century, the French had the idea of playing checkers on a chess board. With the updated design and accompanying rules, the game migrated to England and outward. With a game this old and that has traveled the globe, it should be no surprise that it have many names and variations. Wikipedia has an extended citation on the games, the boards, and the pieces. Even the size of the boards change. An 8x8 board is common, but 10x10 and 12x12 boards are used, too. Given the rich history and complexity of this “simple” game, Mick Darabont just may have been right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers
ABOUT Frank Zafiro
rank Zafiro writes gritty crime fiction from both sides of the badge. During his life, he has been a military intelligence linguist, a police officer (a twenty year career, retiring as a captain), and an independent consultant and instructor. He has taught both writing and police related topics at the collegiate level and professional venues. Through it all, he has been a writer. To date, he has published 48 novels, over 100 short stories, and appeared in over 50 anthologies. He lives in Redmond, Oregon, with his wife, Kristi, who is a teacher.
WRAP UP
That wraps this episode of Mysteries to Die For. Support our show by subscribing, telling a mystery lover about us, and giving us a five-star review. Check out our website TGWolff.com/Podcast for links to this season’s authors.
Mysteries to Die For is hosted by TG Wolff and Jack Wolff. A Checkered Past was written by Frank Zafiro. Music and production are by Jack Wolff. Episode art is by TG Wolff. Join us next week for a Toe Tag, which is the first chapter from a fresh release in the mystery, crime, or thriller genre. Then come back in two weeks for our next original story, Death of a Dungeon Master by Erica Obey where Dungeons & Dragons is the featured game